Thermo-optic coefficient measurement of liquids using silicon photonic microring resonators

Abstract: On-chip measurement of thermo-optic coefficient (TOC) of samples along with on-chip temperature measurements can be used to compensate for thermal fluctuation induced noise in refractometry using integrated photonic sensors. In this article we demonstrate a device design and describe the method to extract TOCs of liquid samples using resonant wavelength shifts of a silicon microring resonator. The TOCs of three standard fluids; De-ionized water, Ethanol and Isopropanol, were determined using our sensor and show a good agreement with values reported in literature. A mechanism for tracking of on-chip temperature variations is also included for ensuring accuracy of TOC measurements. Potential applications of the demonstrated on-chip TOC sensor include improvements in accuracy of refractive index measurements and multiparametric analysis of biochemical analytes.